Thursday, November 15, 2007

Honouring Our Heroes

As fate would dictate, your Blogger happened to be away when Musharraf decided to inflict his constitutional illegality on the people of Pakistan.

Since my return I have been preoccupied with working with other citizens to defeat the state of oppression that has been placed upon us. Writing a Blog did not seem an adequate enough response to the changed world we suddenly find around us.

I began this Blog over thirty months ago with the sole aim of trying to convince people that the Musharraf regime was morally bankrupt and that its intentions were self-seeking and oppressive. Today it would be difficult to find any member of Pakistan’s civic society who would disagree with me. In other words The Glasshouse is now largely redundant.Here is my list of modern Pakistani heroes:

In my personal roll of honour the following three lawyers have to be mentioned by name:Aitzaz Ahsan Muneer A MalikAli Ahmed Kurd

Members of the PressApart from the usual unmentionable rats that are found in every profession, most members of the press have resisted all attempts to become PR spokesmen for the regime. My personal favourites being:

Talat HussainMushtaq MinhasNusrat Javed

The JudiciaryAll judges of the senior judiciary who refused to take oath under the PCO are worthy of praise. They have ended a 50 year hiatus of subservience.

Imran KhanBetrayed by a gang of student thugs bribed by the regime, he held his head high throughout. He once again proved to us what courage and leadership are all about.

We should all be proud of these people. There are others, of course, whom I have forgotten to mention. So, Readers, I would now encourage you to add to the list of our heroes in the comment's column. Let them get the praise they deserve for fighting for our rights in face of lathis, tear gas, imprisonment and physical brutality.

(And, yes, you are also welcome to compile a list of your favourite villains as well.)

______________________________________

There are currently tens of millions of Pakistanis who are currently unable to access news of ongoing events in Pakistan. To them I suggest a traditional alternative - BBC Urdu Service.

In view of the blanket media ban in Pakistan BBC has increased the time and frequency of its Urdu broadcasts. The live broadcasts are available at the following times:

6:30 am to 7:30 am (PST) on medium wave at 1413 kHz

12:30 to 1:00 pm (PST) on 6065, 7180, 11750 and 15510 kHz

3:00 to 4:00 pm (PST) on 5965, 7205, 9510 and 15160 kHz

5:30 to 6:00 pm (PST) on 6060, 7205, 9605 and 11690

8:00 pm to 9:00 am (PST) on medium wave at 1413 kHz

10:30 pm to 10:30 am (PST) on medium wave at 1413 kHz

And internet users can listen to all these broadcasts on http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/

______________________________________

Readers, many thanks for your concern.

As you can see Onlooker is alive and well. Unfortunately, due to the abounding political chaos he has been too busy these past few days even to check on the blog. (Only today did I finally manage to read my readers’ responses. Please accept my sincere apologies).

With the technology available to intercept Al Qaeda’s electronic communications, your Blogger is pretty sure that the authorities might have some clue to his identity, but then perhaps, lucky for him, they are simply to busy countering the latest terrorist threat – our lawyers!

Anyhow Onlooker is off again this coming week to attend a meeting in the capital where it is anticipated there will the usual welcoming lathi and a charming dose of tear gas thrown in for good measure. The important thing is that the people of Pakistan seem to be winning the battle. Good luck to us all!

Let's come out of the imaginary world of impressions; and let's take fact over fiction. After 8 years of all kinds of partenering with the corrupt, welcoming the very people against whom he made the whole case of "saving the nation from", butchering your own people (again for the same people), bringing up the robbers into friends circle, giving unimaginable power to the terrorist organizations like MQM to murder people as if kids blow balloons on their birthdays -- 12 May ---, burning to death of people in mosques, and using liberal/moderate pakistan slogan to cut off the basic human rights with 1000's missing persons, having the sickest of people in the law ministery, ousting anyone who disagrees with the king....and still you talk of intentions, and impressions! That you read them to your liking. Excellent fictional skills.

onlookerGlad to see your blog after so many days. Good luck and be safe! Your blog is not redundant at all as it gives a rare inside view of events with your personal angle.

It is indeed very heartening to see the lawyer community determined to say enough is enough.

But someday when you have time, could you possibly explain why this particular Musharraf episode in 2007 of issuing a PCO and dismissing judiciary which did not endorse Musharraf's rule was so irksome to the Pakistani lawyer community and not so much the exact same Musharraf strategy in 1999?

Is it that the military dictator has proved to be just as bad as the politician and moreover proving impossible to remove from office, thereby adding insult to injury?

Also, what is the common ground on which both pro-Musharraf and anti-Musharraf Pakistani can agree? Will merely removal of Musharraf make the flowers bloom and birds sing?

Good to have you back Onlooker. I hope you are not thinking of closing the blog, I think you should continue to comment on the changing situation.

As for honouring our heroes, I think Geo TV has played a useful role. The star has to be the CJ though who had the courage to say NO. Out of the whole political community it is only Imran Khan that has had the courage to call a spade a spade.

No, since removal of Musharaf will not make make flowers bloom and birds sing, so just accept it. Live with it...right? What if he has been proved as bad or worse as people before, let it continue. Wait for the Messiha from the heavens...until all hell breaks loose on those who could raise their heads; women assaulted, madrassa students burnt, ordinary citizens beaten like cows and dogs. Who gave so much credibility to MQM in the recent years --- why? Who brought all these 'lota' back to assemblies. Who brings back BB, by pardoning her all sins? Let's pardon the sin of that very person. Who cares if he is so bad, since this is a nation of sukcers, let him suck the last drops! Why remove him, it won't make the birds sing or flowers bloom!

faisalPakistanis should remove Musharraf if that is what they want. As a nonPakistani I am curious what will change after he is removed? It is not clear what are the reforms in the system or the policies which Pakistanis want to put in place after his removal?

Ok I am accepting ur sincere apologies coz I was too afraid abt u as u said in the post that ppl can intercept Alqaida's communication can also take over to you. Infact I was thinking that u would somewhere either in prison or underground. U may not post but plz manage time to reply on ur threats.

I am sure people are not going to like what i am about to say. I am in favor of getting rid of Mush. But if that means having NS and BB or any combination of other political corrupt forces(yes Mush is now just as bad as them after some time) back in power....i would rather have the status quo for the moment.

I know that military rule will not last...that the will of the people seems determined to have true democracy but if they put their support and trust into the same bloodsuckers...what is the point of this?????????????

I am hoping that Aitzaz Ahsan(my personal hero) will be chosen as prime minister or president...but that is a long shot.

The people can truly become masters of their destiny if they only choose honest and decent leadership......if this does not occur i will have forever given up on Pakistan.

Welcome back Onlooker:for those who read your blog and are living in pkistan today AND YET HAVE THE GALL TO WANT MARTIAL LAW ...yes, it is martial law not emergency as the man likes to call it - I SAY WAKE UP!Friends and acquaintances of ours who are packed in jail cells, ae being beaten and tortured and cannot get bail as they have been booked on terrorism charges - all for peacefully marching - life has never been as hard in pakistan since zia.shame on all of you government pithoos and expats who are clueless.WATCH OR LISTEN TO THE BBC AND OTHERS>>>>>>>>>>>

This is a struggle between forces of oppression and forces of democracy.

Pakistan's military junta must be confronted wih a joint front of Pakistani civil society.

Please get over your criticism of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif. With all their faults they are better than the general occupying Pakistan and ruling it like a colonizing tyrant.

Any "good" he has done pales in front of the evil that is crushing the judiciary and suspending the constitution.

Any "bad" the democrats may have done is minor compared with the divisiveness caused by Pakistan's arrogant army --the orce that divided Pakistan once before.

The propaganda that US is trying to thrust BB down our throats is part of the Martial Law regime's divisive strategy. It is Musharraf who has devoured billion of dollars in US aid so how can his sympathizers even lift a finger against BB. At least she has sought international support for democracy, not dictatorship of a selfish commando general.

In the darker days of emergency, WWW has once again proved a beaconhouse for me. Not only can I remain uptodate with the news from disparate sites, but also can read articles and views on the blogs like this.

To contribute my little share to raise awareness, I would like to share a link, where if you want you could watch GEO New on web, even with an average bandwidth.

Good to have you back. I was beginning to get concerned by your silence.

It is unfortunate that the perceived hope for democracy, particularly from the perspective of the West, is in the undeniably corrupt BB.

I confess that I have been impressed by the dignity and integrity Imran Khan has demonstrated. In case you have not heard, Jemima has been fighting for his cause here in the UK. She got some good coverage in the Times last week.

Let us hope that Musharraf has gone too far this time and is brought down to earth as a result.

Despite the fact that I'm against dictatorship I do believe that his first three years were good.Corruption was being checked, and competent people were given ministries.Things started going bad since the lota league was brought into action.If he did things in good faith for Pakistan then why is it so that he refused to allow a judicial probe into the events of 12th May?Why was NAB stopped from conducting an inquiry into the sugar hoarding?Why did he issue NRO for a woman he always referred to as the biggest looter and said that she'll be never allowed to come back.I think Pakistanis have a weakness of blindly supporting or condemning a person without looking at his other points.

il advise people to watch Hamid Mir's Capital Talk titled Footpath available on many sites (including youtube) aired on the 24th of nov.speaking of heores i would just like to say: Aik Bahadur aadami Hashmi Hashmi!!!

Thank you for nominating such nice peoples, as our heros, who suffer from military and Loota League. They really did a lot for pakistan, pakistan people, free judiciary, free media. Now we've to unite for these peoples espically CJ.

Sir you really need to post something. Things have gone from bad to worse and still worsening. please keep us updated you'll have a lot to write upon when you return from where ever you are. Stay safe, Ma God Bless you sir,

Your posts being good, why have you left the writing, i am also writing for for more than 10 months i love to see ppls participating in these kind of social activities and try to transfer knowledge and speak with wisdom with goal to to be informed and let other to know about.

And after all that....we get one of the most corrupt individuals ASIF ALI ZARDARI calling the shots!!!!....well done...but again...i would give anything to see Moonis Elahi...AKA Manhoos Elahi and family outta our faces!....even zardari is better than those illiterate Gujrati thugs!

The The Cheap Web Hosting is one stop for the comparison of best web hosting solutions providers. Easy-to-Understand Comparison Grid allows to quickly identify list of features offered by major Web Hosting Providers.

Even should you devote a fortune you could not be gratifying adequate in producing a collector element with his important uk replica watches . First, although they are crafted over the genuine brands, they occur to be possessed by somebody before. therefore you need to create a obvious check, producing particular they have durable and correct function.

we are the best escort agency in Lahore Pakistan. Our escort girls are highly educated and Professional who can fully satisfy you. If you need supreme class escort, call girls in Pakistan, Please Call/WatsApp 03228855445. Pakistani escort are expected to be intelligent, educated, well mannered, and of course beautiful. These stringent requirements are necessary because visitors hire social escorts in Pakistan for all sorts of different functions. From casual functions such as social gathering, birthday parties, to make formal events such as business, functions etc.

Our Girls are young, beautiful, and socially amicable are rare. For these reason, oriental Pakistani female escort girls and models are always in high demand. .Our services are prompt in Pakistani escorts, expected to be intelligent, reasonably educated, wall mannered and of course very charming and beautiful. We keep female escort in Pakistan like the major cities;